Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

Introduction: Skin diseases, not only may have physical consequences
but also costly psychological consequences in one’s life. The present
study was conducted to compare the effect of group counseling with the
approaches of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) on the internalized shame of patients with
vitiligo.
Material & Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test
and post-test design and follow-up and control groups. The study
population consisted of all women with vitiligo who were referred to
Razi Hospital, in Tehran, in 1399. A total of 45 persons who met the
inclusion criteria were purposefully selected and randomly divided into 3

Background

Although there is some evidence on the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in improving health and psychological outcomes in women with breast cancer, further research is needed to understand these findings’ clinical significance. Furthermore, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention studies on breast cancer are scarce, and no compassion-based intervention has been tested for cancer patients. Given the complementarity and compatibility of mindfulness practice, ACT, and Compassion Focused Therapy, the current study combined these approaches to develop an integrative intervention specifically adapted to cancer patients, the Mind programme.

Highlights:

• Compassion Focused Therapy shows promise for treating anger and PTSD in Veterans.
• Treatment dropout was low: 64% of patients completed at least 9 of the 12 sessions.
• The intervention decreased anger symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and fears of compassion.
• Compassion Focused Therapy was endorsed by patients as relevant and enjoyable.
• Further, large-scale study of Compassion Focused Therapy in this area is supported.

Described as a contextual behavioural approach, Compassion-focused Therapy (CFT) aims at helping people develop compassionate relationships both with others and with the self. CFT has been used to promote recovery in psychosis with promising results. The development process of the Compassionate Approach to Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder (COMPASS) builds upon the available research on contextual behavioural approaches for psychosis. Its main framework is the affect regulation system's model and the compassion-focused therapy rationale as it was adapted for psychosis. Other theoretical and empirical influences are presented and innovations regarding CFT protocols for psychosis are highlighted.